Harmanpreet won’t shake hands with Pakistan’s Fatima

Following the Asia Cup where the men’s team refused to shake hands with Pakistan players, the women’s team is also making it clear that it won’t engage in any pleasantries or adhere to sporting conventions while playing Pakistan, who they face only in multi-team tournaments.

“Our relationship with the hostile country is the same and there is no change from last week,” BCCI secretary, Devajit Saikia, told HT. “When India plays Pakistan in Colombo, all cricket protocols will be followed…whatever is there in the MCC regulations.”

HT reported on Wednesday that officials in the International Cricket Council (ICC) say they cannot enforce pre- and post-match handshakes as a rule for teams, even though doing so may enrich the spirit of sport. BCCI is quite clear the players won’t be violating any tournament rules by not shaking hands. However, they may refrain from making any other statement in an ICC event.

The Indian men’s team under Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands with Pakistan players in their three matches at the Asia Cup. By taking that approach, Surya had said, the Indian team was “aligned with the government and the BCCI”.

After the Pahalgam terror attack in April in which 26 civilians were killed, the Indian defence forces responded with calibrated military strikes named ‘Operation Sindoor’. With strong anti-Pakistan sentiment in the country, there have been calls to stop playing cricket with Pakistan altogether. However, BCCI on government advice has kept the schedule in multi-team tournaments.

The Pakistan women’s team are playing all their World Cup matches in Colombo while the rest of the tournament is being staged in India. India didn’t travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy in March, playing all their games in neutral Dubai. It was then agreed that Pakistan would also play tournaments hosted by India at a neutral venue.

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